Plan Sponsors Say They’re Seeking “Soft Skills” From Advisers

A panel of plan sponsors in industries ranging from manufacturing to tech noted the value of intangible skills and traits from retirement plan advisers at a National Association of Plan Advisors panel on Monday. The skill described ranged from showing empathy and understanding of their workforce to giving time to human resource teams.

“I really assess the soft skills—your communication, your relationship-building, all those key pieces,” Gabrielle Turner, director of human resources for North America for TCL Communications, told a room of plan advisers. “We all discuss how the HR role has changed tremendously over the past few years [due to COVID.] … My challenge to my adviser is to be someone who cares and who makes a positive impact alongside me.”

Turner and other HR leaders and executives stressed the need for advisers to go beyond basic plan information and knowledge.

Paul Dennis, chief financial officer for Weber Metals Inc., said he has gone through three advisers in recent years while looking for the right fit. One of them “just didn’t care as much about my employees as I did, so it didn’t work,” Dennis said. From there, he moved on to an adviser he knew, but who, as the business grew, wasn’t able to grow with it. Finally, he settled on his current adviser, who shares his “passion for my employees.”

Tenure Matters

Amanda Peterson, senior director of people operations for Auction.com, said she puts real value on the plan adviser relationship as, over time, they provide institutional knowledge and value.

“They know the history of how things came into the plan and why changes were made, or not made,” she said.

The HR leader said that, when she joined her current firm, she relied on her adviser to get her up to speed on the company’s policies, as well as to discuss areas in which they could improve.

“I didn’t have institutional knowledge, but I knew our adviser had a long-term relationship, so it was a matter of asking him about where we were in the past and where should we go,” she said. “It has been wonderful to get that feedback and bring me down the right path.”

Currently, facing anticipated changes like market volatility and the effects of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, there are a lot of stresses for HR departments, particularly decisionmaking about employees and the retirement plan. Peterson said she relies on her adviser team to guide her department through those issues, and she puts trust in their capabilities.

“Any challenges, such as regulatory changes—I don’t go into a panic, because I have people who are going to tell me what I need to know and also give me the flexibility to do what’s right for our companies and our employees,” Peterson said.

The Personal Touch

Turner said she, as an HR lead, looks for an adviser who is present for not just her, but for her employee base as well. As people return to the office, she wants to see her adviser team there to meet with participants in person.

“My goal is to create the moments we have to meet with our adviser,” she said. “I want unique experiences for employees, where we can be having conversations with them at different moments of their life.”

Turner said she meets employees individually to discuss their benefit packages and how they can best take advantage of the offerings. She believes advisers can play a key role by getting in front of employees when they are going through life events such as marriages, having kids and buying a home, or when they could use advice on how to manage things such as bonuses.

“For advisers, how can we take advantage of those moments?” she said. “Owning those moments is huge.”